Janet the Deporter

Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security — Big Sis to regular readers of the Drudge Report — held a press conference last week that might cause critics to reconsider their views.

Napolitano claims that in fiscal year 2010, ending Sept. 30, the Obama administration set a record for deportations of illegal aliens, 393,000, breaking the old record of 389,000 in 2009.

The 2010 deportations represent an increase of 81,000 over the number in George W. Bush’s final full year in office.

More important, half of the deportees, 195,772, had criminal arrests. Of these, one-third had committed serious felonies such as murder, rape and major drug offenses. If these figures are precise, Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security ran the equivalent of five army divisions of criminal aliens out of the United States.

In making deportation decisions, said Napolitano, we focus on “removing those who pose public safety threats to our communities.”

Not only is this a fine record compared with the Bush administration, Napolitano’s priorities, criminals out first, are what immigration reformers have demanded for decades.

Yet the report on Napolitano’s press conference was buried in The New York Times, which raises a question. Why has the White House not itself been boasting about this record? For this crackdown, of which Hispanic communities are surely aware, seems not to have dented Barack Obama’s popularity in the barrio.

The Democrats’ problem among Hispanics is apathy.

From a new Pew poll of Hispanics, The Washington Post reports: “There is good news and bad news for Democrats. … Latinos support the party, but about half of those questioned say they might not show up at the polls on November 2.”

As political analyst Steve Sailer, who looked deeper into the Pew poll, discovered: “Actually the Pew findings are even worse for the Democrats. … Of 1,375 Hispanic adults interviewed, only 44 percent claimed to be registered voters. And only about half of those said they were certain to vote. And Republican Latinos, while rather thin on the ground, are more fired up to vote … than are Democratic Latinos.”

This replicated Census Bureau data from the McCain-Obama election. While Hispanics were about 15 percent of the population, they cast only 7.4 percent of the ballots.

Moreover, John McCain’s pro-amnesty fight, which almost cost him the Republican nomination, did nothing to help him in November, when he lost Hispanics 67-32 to Obama.

But when the McCain of 2010 ran that ad demanding that the government “complete the danged fence,” he crushed conservative rival J.D. Hayworth and is on his way back to the Senate for a fifth term.

McCain’s record these past three years makes the point: Pandering to Hispanics on illegal immigration is no automatic winner for the GOP among Hispanics, and a tough line against illegal aliens is no automatic loser.

Even Democrats are catching on.

In the gubernatorial race in New Mexico, the most Hispanicized state in the union, Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has promised to deny driver’s licenses to illegals. Her Republican opponent, Susana Martinez, goes her one better. She will take away driver’s licenses from illegal aliens who now have them. Martinez is running ahead and likely to be the first elected Latina governor in U.S. history.

Looking further into the Pew poll, Sailer found that of the seven issues of greatest concern to Hispanics, immigration ranked just fifth, barely ahead of the environment. Fewer than one in three Hispanics named immigration as extremely or very important.

With the exception of an intense concern over the crisis in public education affecting their children, Latinos share the concerns of other Americans. Perhaps it is time we began to treat these as our fellow Americans, rather than doing the Rovian thing and cross-dressing as La Raza Republicans.

Our immigration crisis is not an insoluble problem, if we have the will to resolve it. Not only has Homeland Security deported 780,000 illegal aliens in two years, an estimated 1 million have departed due to the Great Recession and an absence of jobs.

Yet with 8 million U.S. jobs still held by illegal aliens, 15 million Americans out of work and another 10 million seeking work or having given up, the needed steps are simple, if not easy.
First, “complete the danged fence” on the border. Second, accelerate the deportations. Third, step up the audits and raids on scofflaw businesses that hire illegals. Fourth, enact a law in the new Congress denying automatic citizenship to babies born to parents who are in our country illegally, and dare President Obama to veto it.

Finally, demand a national moratorium on all immigration, until unemployment among all of our Americans falls to 6 percent.

Before we shower “Big Sis” in accolades, it must be noted she publically stated a policy of “catch & release” for run of the mill illegal aliens (those without additional crimes, over and above illegal entry).

That sends a permissive message to illegal aliens.

Messages & symbols are crucial in the battle to defend America’s border from illegal aliens, both within America and, perhaps more important, down South of the border in Mexico.

The best messages & symbols are ones which resonate in Mexico (reaching down to the village), discouraging people from coming over the border in the first place.

In terms of domestic politics, Steve Sailer is right, and his message is this:

Appeal to Americans of Mexican decent by appealing to them as Americans, who have the same concerns as would any working class or middle class American.

Truly, the Rove strategy of “cross-dressing as La Raza Republicans” is a failure.

But it’s worse than a failure, its un-American and goes against the great strength of the historic Republican Party: Appealing to the values & principles which define America as a whole.

The Democratic Party is the party of special grievances for special interests (race & class division).

Republicans can win majorities by appealing to American values, no matter what skin color or financial step individual Americans inhabit.

That was the genesis of the Republican Party in 1854 and it’s still the key, today, and will be in the future.

A pair of globetrotting uncles have given me two first cousins, related in the same way to each other, of whom one comes of Palin-loving stock in Texas, while the other is now a (perfectly legal) Latina immigrant in Miami.

As for the Obama Administration’s attitude to illegal immigration, well, of course. His most solid base is black, and he is also backed by the union interests that Clinton sold out with his NAFTA and his GATT. “Dare President Obama to veto it”? What makes Buchanan or anyone else think that he would be inclined to do any such thing, whether for reasons of electoral expediency or, as with his view on the definition of marriage, for reasons of principle?

The same goes for all four of Buchanan’s other proposals. The party of big business is never going to enact his five-point plan, any more than the Clinton wing of the other party is ever going to do so. In the run-up to 2012, this is one of several opportunities for the rest of that party to cut loose once and for all from that wing. Will Obama take those opportunities? If not, then who will? By all means let there be a primary challenge to him. But not from Hillary Clinton.

David Lindsay wrote: “[The Republican Party,] The party of big business…”

The Tea Party is not necessarily the party of big business. The Tea Party is the party of limited government and financial responsibility and the Tea Party is focussed on protecting and abiding by the United States Constitution.

To the extent big business flouts the Constitution and American Sovereignty, the Tea Party will not look kindly on big business.

Illegal imigration and phony free trade are two points where big business and the Tea Party could easily go seperate ways.

The Phoenix police bust “drop houses” on a weekly basis.We have a ways to go as far as securing the Az border.I think we should bring some of our heroes home from Iraq and put them on the border ,give them some drones to help with surveilence.There is no downside to border security

Its amazing how many violent crimes are commited in Phoenix by illegal immigrants.Yesterday we had a be-heading in Chandler(Phx suburb) by an illegal.There are economic and social costs but the violence has a more personal cost

Most countries have secure borders especially if there has been a migration problem – theres nothing racist about it. The border should be secured in a humane manner so that persons apprehended were well treated and returned. Having self appointed loons running about with guns is just stupid. The border with Mexico is a very dangerous place both in terms of physical environment and criminal activity on the Mexican side. Theres f -all we can do about the latter and the harder we try to patrol the border the more hazardous the smuggling routes will become. The US is a first world country with a third world continent along it’s border.

Crime stats in Arizona for violent crime are actually well down and have been falling for a few years so forget the scare stories. In terms of whoever is here now there will be a lot of complicated personal situations children, dependant relatives, and even people serving in the US armed forces. The illegal migrants aren’t just all criminals.

Jim Evans, the Republicans would have done well this year anyway, as the Democrats would have done well in 2008 anyway. But if twenty per cent of Americans identify with the Tea Party, then eighty per cent do not. It is arguable that other tendencies, including paleos, are already in dereliction of their duties as constitutional checks and balances within one of the two great parties. It is unarguable that the Republican Party is rapidly approaching dereliction of its duty as a constitutional check and balance on the Democratic Party. That duty cannot be done from only one vote in five, which it will be approaching if the Tea Party takeover persists beyond this highly unusual year.

Ian I can’t argue with you about the crime rate in Az going down,I don’t know.You can’t convince me crime is dropping in Phoenix/Maricopa County.Which is where I live.Phoenix is a very violent place.Gang violence is not going down in Phx.Gang violence is very personal with me ,not a scare story.A good friend’s(Mexican national now a citizen)son was murdered stuffed in a plastic bag and thrown in a field. The biggest gang in Phx is called Wet Back Power.These bastards murdered my friends son .One mans scare story is anothers nightmare.I don’t know where your from or how much gang violence is there but West and South Phoenix are very dangerous places.I take it there have been no be-headings in your home town
Your correct not all Mexicans are criminal(I know about 20 who have become citizens(co workers)It can be done the right way.Illegal immigration has suppresed wages here dramically so the only negative impact isn’t just crime.Illegal immigration has been very hard on working citizens of Arizona
Have you seen all the crazy violence going on in Mexico? if we don’t secure the border its coming here.Gangs like Wet Back Power will be the delivery system for this mayhem.Guess what,Phoenix will be one of their first targets

Exactly that is why the border has to be secured and the bumd you are talking about deported even witheir saintly old aunts, beautiful US born children etc. If you want to come to the US and not behave the GTFO and take your dependants too. If you want to be a law abiding citizen, raise a family be part of the US and your here working etc then maybe that is different. For the scumbags they must go.